McCain leads area's fundraising, but Obama slowly catching up

Lillie Flores, who will turn 100 in February, has donated more times to the Obama campaign than anyone else in Shelby County.

Lillie Flores may not live to see another presidential election. So she figured she'd try to make this year's political contributions count.

And add up they did.

The 99-year-old East Memphis resident has donated more times to a presidential candidate this election season than any other Memphian: 23, to be exact. She sent so many donations that, when she surpassed the legal limit, a few were returned.

"I've got some little nieces that I love very much," said Flores, who cast her first presidential ballot for Republican Dwight Eisenhower. "And I want (the country) to be a good place for them."

Federal Election Commission records show Flores, who retired in 1979, wrote checks for a couple hundred dollars each to Barack Obama, reaching the maximum amount an individual citizen may contribute -- $2,300 for the primary and an additional $2,300 for the general election.

Her donations have helped Obama narrow the local and state fundraising gap.

The Commercial Appeal's analysis of federal campaign records documenting all donations of $200 or more shows Obama and Republican John McCain even in fundraising across Tennessee.

Those records also show the sums raised by the two candidates in Memphis and its eight-county metropolitan area are the closest they've been since March.

Through August, McCain had a sizable advantage over Obama, with $503,864 raised compared with the Democrat's $326,553. But in September, Obama began gaining ground and, by Oct.15, he was within roughly $84,000 of the total funds raised by his opponent: $539,074 for McCain and $454,685 for Obama.

From Sept. 1 through Oct.15, McCain raised $35,210 in the region, compared with Obama's $128,131. During the same period, contributions from Memphians were six times higher for Obama than McCain: $89,093 compared with $14,115.

The local fundraising tale this election season has taken on a dramatically different story line compared with 2004. With less than a month to go before Election Day, George W. Bush had raised $852,853 in the greater Memphis region compared with John Kerry's $169,564.

Federal campaign records represent a significant portion of local giving but don't tell the whole story.

Since the FEC doesn't require campaigns to itemize donations of less than $200, a donor whose total contributions don't reach that threshold isn't included in the figures.

Nationally, both 2008 major presidential campaigns have raised significant sums of money from donors who've given less than $200. Those federal campaign records are not broken down by state or city, but nationwide they've added up to more than $280 million for Obama and more than $61million for McCain.

Private investor and McCain supporter Tom Jagodinski maxed out on contributions to McCain. He considers the donation a small investment to support a cause he believes in. Of the two candidates' economic plans, the Republican's will cost less, he said.

"I just think people know what higher taxes can do and that there's no such thing as a free lunch," the Germantown resident added.

Bruce Oppenheimer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, attributes the fluctuation in contributions to several factors.

In the primary, many Democrats were giving to Obama's chief opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton, he said. And since McCain opted for public financing, it limited his capacity to raise money in the general election. The third factor is a bit less tangible.

"The enthusiasm for Obama among Democrats has been higher than the enthusiasm for McCain among Republicans," he said.

And that enthusiasm often translates to greater participation in the political process than voting alone, he said. That may include putting out a yard sign, going door-to-door or donating money.

"The fundraising numbers are a sign of intensity and depth of support," he said. "The polling numbers are a sign of breadth of support."

The question is whether that enthusiasm will translate to more votes for Obama.

It isn't likely, Oppenheimer said, that the outcome will change in Tennessee, where McCain has a solid lead in the polls.

Either way, Flores has some advice for Memphians: "Vote your conscience," she said. "Whether you agree with me or not."